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2021 Watershed WaveMaker: Outdoor Promise

Join us in celebrating Outdoor Promise at the Toast to the Tribs on June 22! Tickets and more info here.

Outdoor Promise is a Newburgh-based organization that inspires and supports the next generation of outdoor leaders. The organization offers outdoor education, outdoor experiences, and environmental stewardship opportunities, including regular clean-ups of Muchattoes Lake and Downing Park. Its programs are centered around equitable access for youth, families, and individuals that have been traditionally underrepresented in outdoor recreation. Outdoor Promise has made direct connections between youth education, watershed stewardship, and environmental justice. By providing opportunities to get outside and involved, they engage community members to make a real difference in working together to protect Newburgh’s environment. 

Ronald Zorilla, Outdoor Promise’s Founder and CEO, also serves as a member of the City of Newburgh’s Conservation Advisory Council and Stewart Air National Guard Restoration Advisory Committee, which is giving the community a voice in the cleanup of Newburgh’s PFAS-contaminated drinking water reservoir. The alignment of these organizations has resulted in valuable collaborations, including a new Environmental Justice Fellowship program for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) youth. This program, organized by the City of Newburgh Conservation Advisory Council and in partnership with Outdoor Promise and the Greater Newburgh Parks Conservancy, will hire youth from Newburgh to advocate for the benefits of trees and foster a culture of tree stewardship through community engagement and grassroots organizing.